Covering element



Nov; 29, 1938. a A. a. WALTON 2,138,454

COVERING ELEMENT Filed July 23, 1936 INVENTOR ALFRED B. WALTON W M' WATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES COVERING Alfred B.Walton, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to Certain-Teed Products Corporation,New York, N. Y., a corporation of Maryland Application July 23, 1936,Serial No. 92,102

11 Claims.

This invention relates to roofing elements, such as shingles, and moreparticularly to shingles intended to be laid on a roof in courses withthe shingles positioned with their edges in diagonal relation to theline of the course.

Many shingles of the type referred to above have been proposed andshingles of generally quadrilateral rectangular form have been laid inthe roof with the side edges thereof extending at an angle, and usuallyat equal angles and in many cases substantially at an angle of 45, withthe line of the horizontal courses of shingles. Provision has been madefor overlapping shingles laid successively in a direction upwardly 15along the roof so as to produce a weather-tight construction. Tonguesalso have been provided extending outwardly of the shingle to provide ameans for fastening the shingle to the roof. Many peculiar shapes ofshingles have been proposed in order to provide means for interlockingone shingle with the edges of the adjacent shingles.

The present invention provides a shingle of generally quadrilateral,parallelogram or rec- 25 tangular form having a tongue extendingoutwardly of the shingle adjacent one of the corners which is to belaterally positioned, that is, substantially in the line of the coursewith respect to the diagonally opposite corner of the shingle. 30 Thistongue is so formed as to provide a substantial area extending beyondthe corner of the quadrilateral, that is, beyond the meeting points ofthe corners of adjacently positioned shingles, or their quadrilaterals,in the horizon- 35 tal course. The form of this tongue is such as toprovide an outer end edge on the tongue of substantial extent and toprovide a tongue of substantial width in the direction transversely ofthe course so that a nail or fastening device may be positioned so assecurely to hold down the tongue and the shingle while being adequatelycovered by the overlapping course of shingles to prevent water enteringthe roof around the fastening.

Moreover, the tongue is so formed and is positioned with respect to thebody of the shingle that this tongue may be nailed or fastened securelyupon the supporting structure but at such a distance upon the tonguefrom the body of its shingle that an auxiliary fastening means, such asa rivet or clamp or staple or any of the common devices for fasteningtwo overlapping shingles together, may be inserted and fastened in placebetween said nail and the body of the shingle from which said tongueextends, This insertion maybe made after the overlapping superjacentshingle is fastened in place because ,the tongue provides ,sufllcientmaterial between the nail and. the body to permit such insertion and theinsertion of the riveting or clamping tool if required.

The invention also provides for so forming a notch in the corner oi. theshingle diagonally opposite to the tongue that the shingles may readilybe laid in the horizontal courses on the roof, the notch serving toguide the laying by fitting to the tongue of theshlngle' adjacent in thecourse.

The outline of the tongue and of the notch in the shingle of theinvention are such that portions of this outline and points thereon maybe 5 used as guides in the laying of the shingles in the superjacentcourse. Moreover, theoutline of the tab and of the notch are such thatthe shingles may be cut from a'sheet without waste in the forming of thetongues, the shingles at either side of the severing cuts being of likeform.

The shingle, at the corners thereof which are on the diagonal extendingtransversely of the horizontally extending diagonal. may be made oftruncated form or with other outline to produce modifications of thegenerally quadrilateral or diamond motif in the assembled shingles inthe roof construction. Preferably, the corner which is to be positionedlowermost in the roof construction is made of similar outline or ofsimilar extent to the lower edge of the tongue of the same shingle sothat said lower edge of the tongue may serve as a means for positioningthe shingle in a superjacent course to provide for the desired overlapof said superja'cent shingle upon both of the two adjacent shingles inthe subjacent course. The outlines of the tongue and of the recess aresorelated to the adjacent corners of the adjacent shingles in a coursethat by superposing the truncating edge of a superjacent shingle uponsaid lower edge of the tongue the proper degree of headlap is secured.

The invention further includes the process of producing shingles of thetype which has been referred to above, particularly the process offorming the tongues and the truncated edges without waste of thematerial of the sheet from which the shingles are cut.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawing in which Figure 1 showsthe shingle element of the invention;

Figure 2 shows an assembly of the shingles of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 shows the process of cutting the shingles of the invention froma sheet of material.

The invention is illustrated in Figure 1 by a shingle of generallyrectangular outline, in the particular embodiment of square form. Fromthe body I of the shingle, adjacent the righthand corner 2 of therectangle which would be formed by its edges 8 and lit continued,extends the tongue 3. This tongue is formed with the lower edge 4parallel to the diagonal of the square, this diagonal being that whichwill be positioned in the generally horizontal line of a course in theassembly of shingles. The upper edge of the tongue 3 is formed insloping relation to the lower edge 4 and passes through the corner 2 ofthe rectangle. The edge 5 is not coincident with either of the lines Iiand I of the rectangle which forms the comer 2 thereof. By thus formingthe upper edge 5 of the tab 3 in a sloping relation to the lower edge 4while at the same time not making this edge 5 coincident with the edge Iof the shingle, a tongue of greater width at the inner end thereof issecured and greater strength of the tongue thus provided.

Moreover, the tongue 3 may be formed with its outer end edge 8transverse to the edges 4 and 5 of the tongue to form a blunt end of thetongue. As will be understood from the description hereafter. to begiven in connection with the process of producing the shingles of theinvention,

by thus forming this blunt edge 8 on the tongue and also in making theedge 5 not coincident with the edge v,l of the rectangle, the edge iiiof the shingle connecting the edge 1 with the edge 5 may be made of likeform and extent with the end edge 8 of the tongue. While this willpermit cutting shingles from the sheet without waste, ample area isprovided in the tongue 3 so that a nail or other fastening device 68 maybe positioned, as shown in Figure 2, beyond, that is, toward the rightof, the corner 2 of the rectangle and sufficiently removed from the edge4 of the tongue to insure that the lower edge l2 of an overlappingshingle properly will cover the fastening 68 and prevent the waterentering the roof around the fastening.

At the left hand corner of the shingle of Figure 1, which is diagonallyopposite the tongue 3 is shown a notch formed by the edges l4 and 5. Thecorner I3 of the shingle formed between the edge I5 and the edge 16 isthe corner of the rectangle formed by the intersection of the edges [6and I8 extended. The edge l4, however, is of like form and extent to theend edge 8 of the tongue 3 and the edge i5 is of like form and extent,and in like angular relation to the edge [4, as is the portion 9 of theedge 5 which lies between the corner 2 of the rectangle and the end edge8 of the tongue, said corner in the embodiment illustrated being uponthe line 5 substantially at the mid point thereof. It will thus be clearthat when two shingles of the type illustrated in Figure 1 are assembledas in Figure 2 the tongue 3 may have its end edge 8 and the portion 8 ofthe edge 5 thereof fitted to the edges l4 and I5 respectively of thelaterally adjacent shingle in the course.

As the edge 12 which'truncates the corner of the rectangle formed by theedges i8 and 6 may be made of like extent and in like angular relationto the edges of the rectangle as is the lower edge 4 of the tongue 3, ashingle of like form may be positioned in a superjacent course relativeto the shingles of a subjacent course by extending horizontally, thatis, on a line bringing the edge 12 thereof in coincidence with the edge4 of the tongue of the subjacent shingle.' As the edge 4 of the tongueis formed below the corner 2 of the rectangle at which the edges 6 and Iof the shingle intersect, in view of the like extent of the edges l2 and4 of their like angular relation to the edges'of the rectangle, theheadlap of said 'superjacent shingle is thus determined by bringing theedge l2 into coincidence with the edge 4 of the subiacent shingle.Moreover, when, as illustrated in the particular embodiment shown inFigure 1, the edges i2 and 4 are formed at 45 with the edges of thesquare of the shingle itself, like overlap, that is, like headlap, willbe produced on the two subjacent shingles-when the superjacent shingleis positioned with the edge l2 coincident with the edge 4 of the tongueof the subjacent shingle.

As will be clear from Figure 2, when the tongue 3 is fitted to the notchof the adjacent shingle, the corner l3, being the corner of therectangle, will meet the corner of the rectangle of the lefthandshingle, the point 2 of which corner is positioned on the edge 5 of thetongue 3. If desired, this point 2 may be marked on edge 5 by suitablemeans. In view of the equiangular relation of the edge 4 to the edges 6and ll! of the two laterally adjacent shingles and because the tongue 3of the lefthand shingle fits to the notch of the righthand shingle, theedge 4 meets the edge I8 of the shingle at such a point that the corner[8 is equidistantfrom' said meeting point and from the intersection ofthe edge 4 with the edge 6 of the lefthand shingle. Likewise the edge l4of the notch intersects the edge l8 at said first meeting point. It willbe seen from Figure 2 that in view of the relation of 'the edgesdescribed, the edge iii of the righthand shingle is in line with theedge 6 of the lefthand shingle.

In the particular embodiment illustrated, these distances from thecorners I 8 and 2 may be, for example, 2.475" in order that the tonguemay be formed with the edge 4 of a length of 3 /2".

Thus the superjacent shingle will overlap each of the subiacent shinglessubstantially 2.475". It will be clear from a study of the drawing, withthese dimensions in mind, that if the outer edge 8 of the tongue 2 ismade with the dimension of 1 the inner width of the tongue may be 21%".The edge it), therefore, may likewise be 1 the total extent of thispartially truncated corner being 3%", including the base width of thetongue.

The dimensions which have been given above are typical of a shinglewhich may be 16" square, but the invention is not limited to theseparticular dimensions. Modifications, both of the particular dimensionsabove given and of the dimensions of the rectangle, so that onedimension thereof is longer than the other, may be made. Moreover, theshingle may be made with similar dimensions or proportions but ofparallelogram form.

It will now be understood that with a shingle of such size orproportions having the tongue formed as described it is possible toinsert a rivet or similar fastener to hold the superiacent shingle downto the tongue 3 of the subjacent shingle and that this rivet or fastener10 may be so inserted after said tongue 2 has been nailed or fastened,as at 68 of Figure 2, to the supporting structure.

The upper corner of the shingle, as illustrated in Figure 1, also may betruncated with an edge in like relation to the sides of the rectangle asis the lowertruncated corner. From Figure 2 it may be seen that thecorner Blimay provide an additional guide for laying the shingle incorrect relation to the shingle previously laid in asubjacent course,by. bringing the corner 50 formed by the edges 1 and Hlinto coincidentposition 1 upon the corner 62 formed by the upper truncating edge andthe edge It of the subjacent shingle.

The shingle being -laid also may, be positioned in correct angular orrectangular relation to the shingle of the subjacent courseand to theother shingles in its own course by utilizing this means cuts 35 .areformedin the sheet with the adjacent ends 36 and 31 of adjacent cutsspaced apart. The cuts 30=and 35, however, are-made on lines. whichintersect in. a common point 38, this common point being that at whichthe corners of the rectangles of the shingles being out from thesheet-would meet if the sides of the rectangle were extended..Preferably the ends of thecuts 32; 33,136, 31 are equidistant-from thecommon point 38; Within the scope of, the invention, however, thesedistances may be varied i if the-tongues are made of different outlineorif -it' is desired to make the tongues on-the different shingles beingcutin this. process in different relation to each other.; i

Through thecommon point 38 a cut 40 is made which it will be recognizedwill form the edge 5 of the tongues 3. Preferably the cut 40 extendsequaldistances either side of the common point 38. Connecting at theends of the cut 40 are cuts 42 and-43 which respectively connect to theends 36 and 31 ofadjacent transverse cuts 35. The cut 40 is formed so asto be not coincident with the line upon which the cuts 35 are formed. Itwill be understood that in view of the angular relation of the line 40to the line of the cuts 35 the tongues 3 on the 'two shingles which arediagonally related at the common point 38 may be formed with the bluntends 8, and the tongues 3 may be of like or similar form. In order tocomplete the tongues in such outline as to extend outwardly of theshingles adjacent the corner thereof and the general direction'parallelto the diagonal of the rectangle, the cuts 44 and 45 are formed toproduce the lower edge 4 of the tongues on each of said two diagonallypositioned shingles in the'sheet being out. It also will be clear thatthe cuts 44 and 45 form the truncated lower corners of the two othershingles diagonally related in the sheet-at the common point 38.

Thus the cuts 40, 42, 43, 44, 45taken together substantially are of 5form extending as a continuous line between the ends 32 and 33 of thelongitudinal spaced cuts 30. While the outline of this 8 in theparticular embodiment illustrated consists of a succession or set ofstraight lines, it will be understood that the invention likewiseincludes the making of a cut of 8 form drawn as a curve between the ends32 and 33 and touching the ends 36 and 31. Said curve also may passthrough the common point 38. It is a feature, therefore, of the processof the invention that a cut of 8 form is made in the sheet, that cutsare formed extending in generally opposite directions from the ends ofthe S and at an angle to the usual upright line of the S as ordinarilyviewed, and that cuts are also formed transversely to said firstmentioned cuts and extending from the bends of the S in oppositedirections to each other. Thus it will .be clear that from a sheet ofmaterial elements .may be out which have tongues extending outwardlythereof adjacent the corners thereof in a direction generally that ofthe diagonal of the elements to said corners.

In the particular embodiment shown elements of generally square form arecut from the sheet, the length of the cuts 35 and 30 being substantiallyequal. At the ends of the cuts 35 which are removed from the 8 cut, inorder to form the notches in the elements, cuts in the sheet along thelines 50, 5| and 52 are formed to remove pieces of material from thesheet. It will be clear that by removal of this piece of material ateach side edge of the sheet not only are the edges l4 and I5 formed inthe shingle respectively by the cuts 5l and 50 but the upper corners ofthe two adjacent shingles in the sheet are truncated by the cut 52.

While by removal of these pieces of material a certain amount of wasteis produced, nevertheless the process of the invention makes it possibleto produce the shingles with little waste and less than would benecessary if the tongues were formed in a different relation than thatsecured by the formation of the S cut in the sheet. By repeating theformation of the 8 cut at spaced points along the length of the sheetand correspondingly forming the cuts 30 as well as the transverse cuts35 and the cuts 50, 51 and 52, a series of shingle elements may be cutfrom the sheet. If desired the cuts 50 and 5| only may be made in thesheet adjacent the edges thereof, as extensions of the cuts 35, tocomplete the severing of the shingles from each other. In such case theshingles will have a projection between the corner 62 and the corner 64instead of the truncating edge at the upper corner. In such case nomaterial will be removed from the sheet.

The invention is not limited to the particular square or rectangularform of element illustrated and variations from this form may be madewithin the scope of the invention while retaining the features whichhave been described. Likewise the process may be applied to theproduction of shingles of different shapes having tongues extending fromthe corners thereof.

Having thus described my invention I now claim:

1. A shingle of generally quadrilateral shape having a tongue extendingoutwardly of the shingle from a corner thereof in the directiongenerally like-extending with the diagonal to said corner, said tongueextending beyond the point determining said corner of the quadrilateraland being of substantial width throughout said extent to provide asubstantial area of the tongue beyond said point for a fastening appliedto said tongue.

2. A shingle of generally quadrilateral shape having a corner of thequadrilateral truncated and having a tongue extending outwardly of thequadrilateral from a corner thereof other than spade for a similartongue of an adjacent shin- 40' the corner opposite said truncatedcorner, said tongue having two edges thereof extending in the directiongenerally parallel to said truncating edge and beyond the pointdetermining said other corner a distance sufficient to provide beyondsaid corner a substantial area of the tongue for a fastening appliedthereto, said tongue having the edge on the side thereof toward saidtruncated corner substantially parallel to said trancating edge.

3. A shingle of generally quadrilateral shape having a corner of thequadrilateral truncated and having a tongue extending outwardly of thequadrilateral from a corner thereof other than the corner opposite saidtruncated corner, said tongue having two edges thereof extending in thedirection generally parallel to said truncatnigedge and beyond the pointdetermining said other corner a distance sufficient to provide beyondsaid corner a substantial area of the tongue for a fastening appliedthereto, said tongue having the edge on the side thereof toward saidtruncated corner approximately equal to that of said truncating edge.

4. A shingle of generally quadrilateral shape having a tongue extendingoutwardly of the shingle from a corner thereof in the directiongenerally like-extending with the diagonal to said corner, said tonguehaving a substantial ex- ;ent in said direction beyond the pointdetermining said corner of the rectangle so that a portion of saidtongue lies between the extensions of the sides of the quadrilateralwhich form said corner, said shingle having therein adjacent thecornerat the opposite end of said diagonal a notch of similar outline toat least a part of the outline of the tongue and so positioned withrespect to the adjacent corner as to provide gle of anassembly fittingto said notch and to determinethe spacing of said shingles.

5. A shingle of generally parallelogram shape having two oppositecorners truncated in substantially like-relation to the edges of theshingle; said shingle having a tongue adjacent and extending asubstantial distance outwardly from one of the other corners so that aportion of said tongue lies between the extensions of the sides of theparallelogram which form said corner, said shingle being notchedadjacent the fourth corner to fit to a similar tongue of a similarshingle to position said shingles with the edges thereof in generallyparallel relation.

6. A -shingle of generally parallelogram shape having a corner thereoftruncated to form an edge to be exposed, said shingle having adjacentanother 'corner other than the corner diagonally opposite to saidtruncated corner a tongue extending generally diagonally outwardly ofthe shingle beyond said adjacent corner, said tongue having an edge onthe side thereof toward said trancated corner substantially parallel toand substantially equal to the truncating edge of said first corner,said tongue having an edge thereof on the far. side thereof from saidtruncated corner extending out of alignment with the line of a side ofthe parallelogram or an extension thereof to increase the width of theouter portion of said tongue.

7. A shingle of generally parallelogram shape having a tongue adjacentone corner of the parallelogram formed with an edge thereof passingthrough said corner of the parallelogram but out of alignment with aside of the parallelogram or an extension thereof, said edge .beinggenerally like-extending with the diagonal to said corner of theparallelogram, said tongue having another edge thereof generallylike-extending with said diagonal of the parallelogram to said cornerand removed from said corner in the direction of the exposure of theshingle a distance to provide a tongue of substantial width transverseto said diagonal, said tongue being of sufficient length beyond saidcorner to provide in consideration of said width sufficient area withinits outline for a fastening securely to hold said tongue upon thesupporting structure and to provide between the position of saidfastening device and the body of the shingle for a clampin" or rivetingdevice to hold an overlapping shingle down to said tongue.

8. A shingle of paral elogram shape having a corner thereof truncated ata predetermined angle to an adjacent side of the parallelogram, saidshingle having a tongue extending outwardly of the parallelogramadjacent the corner which is at the other end of said side of theparallelogram from said truncated corner, said tongue having the edgethereof which is nearer said truncated corner substantially equal tosaid truncating edge and in similar angular relation to said side of theparallelogramas is said truncating edge, said tongue having the edgeoutline thereof which is at the far side of said tongue from saidtruncated edge symmetrical about the point determining said corner'oftheparallelogram adjacent which said tongue is positioned and out ofalignment with an edge of the parallelogram or an extension thereof toincrease the width of the outer portionof said tongue.

9. A shingle of generallysquare shape having a corner thereof truncatedby an edge of given outline between two adjacent sides'of the square,said shingle having adjacent 'a corner other than that opposite saidtruncated corner a tongue extending outwardly beyond said corner of ,thesquare and formed with an'edge on the side thereof toward said truncatedcorner substantially equal and parallel to said truncating edge, saidtongue having vthe other edges thereof formed on a line of substantiallysymmetrical outline extending from theouter end of said parallel tongueedge to a point on the third side of the square adjacent said tongue,saidoutline passing through said corner of the square adjacent saidtongue but being out of alignment with said third edge of the square,said shingle .having a notch therein adjacent the corner diagonallyopposite said tongue, said notch being formed in an outline parallel toand equal to that portion of said other edge of said tongue between saidouter end of the parallel edge thereof and said corner of the squareadjacent-the tongue, said. notch forming edge extending through saidcorner of the square oppositeto said tongue.

10. A shingle of generally parallelogram .shape having one corner of theparallelogram sides of the parallelogram adjacent thereto as is saidfirst truncated corner to its adiacent sides so as to provide at eachend of the truncating edge a point as a mark for coincidence of the taredge of the adjacent shingle laid on a superposed 5 course.

ALFRED B. WALTON.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,38,1 ,61,

November 29, 1958 ALFRED B. WALTON.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2,first column, line 19, for the word "fonns" read form; and secondcolumn, line 6, after the numeral "1;" insert and; page 5, first column,line 21, strike out "52' appearing in bold face type and insert the samein roman type; and

second column, line 16, for "elements" read element; page 11,, firstcolumn, line 10, for "trancating" read truncating; line 62, claim 6, for"trancated" read tnmcated;-a nd that the said Letters Patent should beread with this correction therein that the same may conform to therecord of the case in the Patent, Office Signed and sealed this l th dayof April, A. D. 1959.

(Seal) Henry Van Arsdale Acting Commissioner of Patents.

